


Comfort and Ease

by KakumeiNoHi



Series: The Stories of Winter and her Partner [14]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Atlas Academy, Canon Universe, F/F, RWBY - Freeform, Winter Schnee - Freeform, atlas academy headcanons, rwby canon universe, rwby fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27884695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KakumeiNoHi/pseuds/KakumeiNoHi
Summary: Winter’s head was resting on her arms on top of her desk. She had finished every report and piece of homework for the week and she had connected a pair of earbuds to her scroll. She had closed her eyes and been listening for a while when she suddenly felt something close to her head. She bolted up and immediately removed the earbuds.“C-cassie, when did you come here?”Her partner was standing next to her with a smug smile on her face. Had she been so engrossed that she hadn’t even felt her materialize? Or had Cassie actually used the door for once and she simply hadn’t heard her?“Oh, just a few moments ago…”“I see, did you find what you needed from the library?”Winter tried to immediately distract her while subtly pushing the pause button on her scroll and turning it face down. She wasn’t going to risk her partner asking questions shereallydidn’t feel like answering.“I did. I already placed the books on my desk. You didn’t notice however since you were so absorbed in whatever you were listening to just right now.”Dang.Winter should have known better.
Relationships: Winter Schnee/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Stories of Winter and her Partner [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914799
Comments: 11
Kudos: 14





	Comfort and Ease

Winter’s head was resting on her arms on top of her desk. She had finished every report and piece of homework for the week and she had connected a pair of earbuds to her scroll. She had closed her eyes and been listening for a while when she suddenly felt something close to her head. She bolted up and immediately removed the earbuds.

“C-cassie, when did you come here?”

Her partner was standing next to her with a smug smile on her face. Had she been so engrossed that she hadn’t even felt her materialize? Or had Cassie actually used the door for once and she simply hadn’t heard her?

“Oh, just a few moments ago…”

“I see, did you find what you needed from the library?”

Winter tried to immediately distract her while subtly pushing the pause button on her scroll and turning it face down. She wasn’t going to risk her partner asking questions she _really_ didn’t feel like answering.

“I did. I already placed the books on my desk. You didn’t notice however since you were so absorbed in whatever you were listening to just right now.”

 _Dang._ Winter should have known better. She stayed quiet. Maybe her partner will drop the subject with that?

“Soooo, what’s that you were listening too?”

Of course she wasn’t going to drop it. And Cassie’s interest was so exaggeratedly gleeful, it annoyed Winter immensely.

She had ‘caught‘ Winter doing something other than her ever-so important studying or reading textbooks _on her own_ and not after being dragged into doing it by her and she was going to take her time and tease her mercilessly about it.

“Nothing you would like or understand.” Winter tried to deflect.

“That’s very hurtful, Miss Schnee. Some of us plebeians actually know of the art of...what is it called again? M-? Mu-? No, MoooosiK? Was that perhaps what you were listening to?”

“Why are you like this?”

Winter groaned and dropped her head into her arms. She gave up. Cassie chuckled.

“Oh, come on. Just tell me what you’ve been listening to.”

She nudged her gently. Winter raised her head and sighed.

“Promise not to laugh.”

Her partner didn’t reply.

“Cass!”

“Fine, I promise _I’ll try_.”

Winter narrowed her eyes and glared at her.

“Oh, relax. It can’t be that bad.”

She shuffled Winter slightly to the side and moved in to sit next to her on the same small chair, which meant that both of them were sitting halfway in the air now.

“Really?” Winter rolled her eyes at how unnecessary this was.

“You don’t like it? It’s cozy.”

Her partner only chuckled and put her arm around her shoulder.

“It’s uncomfortable and annoying to sit like this on a chair that was only meant for one person.”

“Alright.”

Without giving her the chance to even react her partner had lowered her arm to Winter's waist and with one swift move she had lifted her up to slide on the entire chair and put her in between her legs. For a few seconds Winter had just been sitting in place baffled.

“This works just fine, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it’ll do.” Winter's face slightly flushed.

Her partner giggled and with her arms still around her waist she rested her head on Winter's shoulder.

“Now, let me hear.”

Cassie nuzzled slightly against her cheek and Winter felt even warmer. This wasn’t too bad really.

And so Winter put one ear bud back into her own ear and she took the second one into her hand. She was about to reach up to her partner's head when a thought crossed her mind and she stopped halfway to think for a second.

She felt Cassie's hand on top of hers as she took her hand to guide it to her lower ear.

“This one.” Her partner giggled.

“That’s not what-!” Winter stopped mid-sentence and got embarrassed.

“That’s really not what I was wondering.”

Her face went bright red and her partner only giggled some more.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a fair question.”

“I knew which ear to put it in. I’ve seen you put in scroll earpieces for missions.”

Now Winter was simply sulking a little. She did feel the need to defend herself a little though.

“I was actually only wondering why you put them in your lower ears and not in your wolf ears…and would they fit and stay up there? What happens if you put them in different ears? One on top and one lower?”

Questions poured out of Winter, but then she suddenly became quiet and tense.

She had always wondered about these things, but she never really knew any Faunus who she could ask. And even anytime she had met somebody, she didn’t _dare_ to ask. Fearing that she might just offend. Which was the last thing she wanted to do given how she wanted to be better than what her family name currently represented regarding anything Faunus-related.

Winter had known her partner for so long and so well now however that she had let her guard down in front of her and slipped.

“I’m...really sorry…that probably sounded extremely ignorant.”

Winter lowered her head.

“Hm? You think so?” Her partner tilted her head and touched Winter’s slightly.

“Is it not?” Slightly hesitant and confused Winter asked her question.

“Well, I can’t speak for others. But personally I think there’s a big difference between ignorance and curiosity.”

Winter perked up a little so she could listen more carefully.

“I mean, you don’t have a second pair of ears, a tail, horns or wings. For us they are simply part of our bodies but as Humans you don’t really have anything similar extending your bodies like that. So how would you know what it’s like?”

“Still, you don’t feel hurt if somebody asked you questions about your body?”

“I’d rather they ask me honest questions so they can understand than treat me badly because they don’t want to _even try_.”

“Is that what you meant when you said there’s a difference between curiosity and ignorance then?”

“Yup, at least that’s the way I see things. Sadly though we live in a world where only relatively few people want to learn about Faunus. And more and more Faunus are getting frustrated with it.”

She sighed and Winter lowered her head.

“But let’s not get too much into the actual politics of it all now.”

She raised one her arms to put it around Winter's shoulder and nudged her a little.

“And to answer your questions. Earpieces are just quicker and easier to reach in my lower ears. I’d have to reach all the way up my head to pick a call otherwise, it’s just a pain.  
I also tried putting earbuds into my wolf ears once just to try and they just tend to fall out more often. It’s also kind of distracting to have music or sounds directly playing into them. And if I put one earbud in a wolf ear and one in a lower ear on the other side it kind of messes with my sense of balance a little for some reason.  
But some of that might really just be me and it probably also depends on how sensitive a person’s hearing in general is.”

“Oh, I see. I think some similar things would happen to Humans as well. I have for example met people who have to stop walking or go somewhere quiet when they pick up calls and talk on their scrolls, earpiece or not. Although it’s probably still not the same.”

“Nonetheless, people won’t know about similarities they might share with others if they don’t talk to and listen each other.” Cassie furrowed her brow.

“But again, we live in a world that doesn’t seem to be changing all too much when it comes to that.” Winter sighed.

She knew very well about the amount of talks that had happened between Humans and Faunus after which nothing much had changed on mostly the Human end of things.

“Mostly because people lack in the _listening_ department.” Cassie added.

“Humans do.”

Winter corrected her bitterly and she remembered the countless times she had snapped back at Jacques and gotten into huge fights after one of his outburst about the Faunus workers or the White Fang.

Her arguments had fallen on deaf ears everytime she had tried to have him change the SDC’s policies regarding Faunus and the safety regulations. But Jacques didn’t want this workers to be content. He wanted them to be silent, working and obedient.

He _would_ however hear her each time he called him an intruder who only tried to pretend being a Schnee and was even failing at that. She narrowed her eyes and tensed up just remembering how he would raise his hand at her...

“Winter?”

There was concern in her partner’s voice, she had probably sensed her tensing up in her arms. Winter simply shook her head. She didn’t feel like talking about that right now. Instead...

“Say…”

...there was one other thing Winter had been curious about now that they were talking about the subject.

“...you’re always relatively objective whenever this subject comes up…I thought you’d be more passionate about...I don’t know...”

“You thought I’d defend Faunus more strongly and hate Humans more?”

“Yes...a little...” Winter admitted and lowered her head.

“Wanna hear a bit about what I’ve experienced?”

Her partner lowered her head on her shoulder and Winter saw her closing her eyes.

“If...it’s not too much to ask…”

“Not at all.” She shook her head slightly. “I’m okay with telling _you_.”

Winter's heart skipped a little when she realized that this was something she wouldn't go ahead and tell anybody about.

“You already know how my mother was a Human and my father was a Faunus, right?”

Winter nodded as she listened.

“Now even though there was a fifty-fifty chance of me becoming either one of those, I’m still in the end a full-fledged Faunus.”

Winter was startled for a second.

“Wait, are there people who think differently?”

Confused she turned her head to look at her partner whose expression had hardened.

“Yes.” Her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

“The thing is, I loved my mom. And I loved my dad. I still do. And they both always made sure that I grow up to be proud of who and what I am.  
They even taught me to do this thing in the evenings before going to bed: It was to look at myself in the mirror and remind myself of how I’m okay just the way I am.”

Something dawned on Winter.

She actually had quite often noticed her partner standing in front of the long mirror in the evening or before going to sleep, checking her ears, face or fiddling with her hair a little.

Winter had however never given it much thought and always assumed that she was probably just doing it for grooming or health care reasons, much like anybody else would. Now she knew that there was even more to it and it actually explained a lot about her partner.

“They were good parents making sure their daughter grows up confident and strong.”

Winter leaned her head against her partner's and Cassie’s face softened a little again.

“They had to. Because while I had Humans treat me like crap for being a Faunus, I also had other Faunus treat me like crap or with pity for apparently not being a ‘true’ Faunus whenever they found out about my Human mother or my grandmother who later raised me.”

“You’ve suffered on both ends then?”

Winter could feel her partner tense up and tightened her grip around her slightly.

“I have. And so tell me now, Winter, because I really don’t know sometimes...as a kid who in the end lost both parents, a Human and a Faunus, to the same type of Grimm...how am I supposed to feel about any of the fighting between the two races in the end?”

She sighed. Winter had no answer to give and she didn’t think that her partner actually expected her to give her one.

A few moments passed and they simply sat together.

With her head on Winter’s shoulder Cassie had closed her eyes again and Winter could feel her partner slowly relax as she carefully nuzzled her own head against her partner’s.

In the end their talk seemed to have taken a lot more out of Cassie than she had initially let on.

Winter remembered how she had told her about how she had been bullied as a child. Especially after her parents' death, but she could only guess what exactly her partner had gone through even before.

Having her this close however made Winter realize just how far the two of them in general had come. Her partner was no longer actively trying to hide her stress and anxiety from her and Winter was now completely comfortable being physically this close to her, comforting her and confiding in her whenever she needed help herself.

In fact Winter now even fully admitted that she had very much fallen in love with her partner, even though she was still a little too afraid to tell her.

When they had first met Winter would have not only been embarrassed and scared to be this close to her, but she would have plainly shoved her away immediately – physically and emotionally.  
Never would she have imagined herself being okay with sitting on the same chair in front of her like this and candidly speaking about matters that would leave either one of them very exposed in front of the other.

These days she very much appreciated the affection her partner had for her. It made her feel like her partner returned her feelings.

Winter knew that Cassie had always cared for her and over time she had only become even more affectionate and considerate, but Winter still didn’t know whether it was simply kindness or more. Occasionally she would feel a sting in her chest thinking about it.

But Winter also felt that after all the times she had pushed her partner away, she herself now had to be the one to take steps towards her partner.

Even if her inexperience and nervousness only allowed for careful, tiny steps and all she knew for now was how to occasionally and shyly show her some of the same physical affection she received.

Winter reached up to her partner’s cheek and she timidly drew a small circle with her index finger before placing it on top.

Cassie’s expression softened as she relaxed into her touch and hand. Winter couldn't help but to blush and be grateful for how her partner had kept her eyes closed. How could she suddenly get so cute sometimes? Or had she always been this cute? Why was she so cute? Winter gulped.

She carefully removed her hand again and slowly reached for her scroll to open it up again. Winter took a deep breath and pressed ‘play’.

She felt her partner stir and tilt her head against hers. Her eyes opened a little.

“ _That’s_ what you’ve been listening to?”

More than anything she sounded a bit baffled.

“Yes…” Winter's reply was timid.

“What is it? Or...actually… _who_ is this?”

“That’s…my younger sister…Weiss...”

She looked to the side, away from her partner.

“That’s her? Really?”

Cassie propped herself up and her eyes were wide open now.

“Yes...and the one on the piano is Whitley...he only started playing a year ago.”

A few moments passed and Winter carefully turned her head to look at her partner, who hasn’t said anything in response.

Her eyes were closed again, she was simply listening and Cassie lowered her head on Winter’s shoulder once more.

“A year ago you say? But he’s really good already. Both of them are actually. Weiss’ voice is beautiful.”

“They both have much more actual talent in music than me.” Winter admitted.

“So you don’t play anything?”

“I...play the violin…”

“But Winter, isn’t that one of the most difficult instruments to play though?”

Cassie sounded puzzled.

“Yes, but I really only just hit the notes and that’s great and everything, but there’s a difference between my way of playing and Whitley’s or Weiss’ singing.”

“Oh, I think I actually get what you’re talking about! It’s the same reason your cooking sucks.”

Winter elbowed her and Cassie only giggled.

“My cooking is perfectly fine. Don’t go insulting me so casually like I wouldn’t notice...”

“Did we not have this conversation already, Winter?”

Her partner's tone was teasing and Winter was annoyed just remembering the argument she would end up loosing all the time.

Cassie smugly snuggled closer against her and Winter had half a mind to shove her off the chair, but she resigned to simply pulling her cheek a little and letting go again.

“Anyway, do you have more of their recordings? Do you have some of your own?”

For some reason her partner was getting extremely excited about this whole thing.

“I have some of my siblings’ practice recordings. Klein keeps sending them to me every once in a while. But I don’t have any of my own.”

“Klein?”

“He’s…” Winter became a little shy. “...our butler...but...he’s the one who basically raised me and he still takes care of Weiss and Whitley...more so than our parents do…”

“He sounds like a good person.” Her partner's voice was soft.

“He is.” Winter smiled a little thinking about him.

“Do you know if he has some of your music?”

“Do you really want to hear it that badly?”

“Yes!”

With her arms around Winter she swayed from side to side and Winter sighed.

“Fine. I’ll ask him. But no promises.”

“Yaaay!”

For a little while longer they kept listening to the recordings, simply enjoying each others' company and the comfort it brought.


End file.
